Various devices are known in the art for timing events. Timers may be categorized in one of two groups as either an incremental (i.e., count-up) or decremental (i.e., count-down) device. Various mechanical, electromechanical, and electrical clocks or stopwatches have been employed to tell time and/or time activities and events in a count-up manner. Such count-up devices typically provide a visual indication using hands or numerals for designating the hour, minute and second of the time of day or elapsed time of the activity. Although the foregoing count-up devices are often useful for telling the time of day and for timing simple events such as a race by use of a simple “lap” time functionality, such devices are not well suited for providing an indication of the time remaining in an activity.
Count-down devices are best suited to management of remaining time. Count-down devices include hourglasses filled with sand, egg timers and timers on microwaves and ovens that ring or buzz when time has expired. Such devices are useful for timing activities, such as taking a test, and assisting with time management where the instant of time expiration is focal. However, such count-down devices do not typically provide a clear indication of an individual's progress in an activity since the devices often require an event participant to calculate, interpret or judge how much time is remaining in the active interval and estimate or extrapolate his or her progress relative to the total length of the activity. Moreover, such devices place a particular importance on the instant of time expiration by providing a single audible or visual signal, and they are not well-suited for use with activities having multiple steps or intervals or providing a gentle and/or progressive warning for assisting a participant of an activity with his or her time management.
Further, interpretation of the foregoing count-up and count-down devices may be hindered by the fact that these devices typically must be viewed close up as they are not easily viewable from a distance, particularly if a plurality of participants are involved in the activity or event. In a further example, if the activity or environment is noisy, a conventional timer that sounds a warning may not be well-suited to the activity since the warning may not be heard by the participants. To that end a visual indication such as a light or combination indication such as a light and sound would be helpful. Additionally, such devices primarily rely on visual or aural interpretation of the device and therefore preclude the participation of an individual who is visually or hearing impaired or who is at a great distance from the timing device. For example, in a classroom where students are engaged in a time-delimited activity like small group time or free time, the teacher may want to warn the students in several areas of the classroom simultaneously of the approaching end of the activity and to start cleaning up. For certain tasks, it is desirable to give a gentle or progressive warning that the deadline is approaching, and clocks do not provide such a warning. Therefore, in view of the foregoing, a time interval indicating device providing visual and audible cues for timing activities or events including two or more intervals would be welcomed.